Bob and Betty’s Summer with Captain Hawes by E. Boyd Smith is a charming children’s book set in the idyllic seaside town of Cape Cod. The story follows siblings Bob and Betty as they spend their summer with the wise and kind Captain Hawes, learning about maritime life, sailing, and the rich history of the area. Through their adventures, the children develop a deep appreciation for the sea and the importance of community, making it a delightful tale of discovery and friendship.
Chapter 1
Now I will tell you how Bob and Betty spent the summer at the coast with Captain Ben Hawes. Captain Ben was an old sailor. After forty years of service on the high seas, he had come ashore.
Tough and hearty, and with endless stories of strange adventures in foreign ports and with native peoples, he was more interesting to the children than the most fascinating fairy tale book.
His house was a small museum with all kinds of items from distant lands. There were the big green parrot that shouted “Ship ahoy” and “All aboard!”, the shells that gave the murmuring echo of the ocean when held to your ear, and the peculiar objects with strange shapes from faraway lands. The boy and the girl found everything equally interesting and fun.
On their first day, the weather was fine and the bay was calm, so Captain Hawes took the children out for a sail in his boat. How wonderful it was to glide so easily over the gleaming water. The coast, the docks, and the ships at the yards were all so interesting to see from the water.
The Captain told them all about the different vessels they passed, the fishermen, the coal barges, and the drift boats. How they sailed and where they were going. The children listened spellbound. The Captain loved to talk about ships and the sea, but he also knew a lot about the history of things related to sea life. He told them about the first people who, long, long ago, started wandering around on rafts and canoes carved from tree trunks.
“In the South Pacific, some peoples still make these canoes. I have seen them often,” he explained. “And of course, you have heard of the birch bark canoes of our Indians. Then the use of sails was gradually developed, and the boats and ships became bigger, and now the day of the steamship has arrived.”
“I would like to teach you everything about making boats and ships,” he added. “If it’s okay, I will take you to the yards tomorrow and show you how they make them. Then, when you go home, where they don’t know much about such things, you can tell them all about it.”
The next day, Captain Hawes kept his promise and took the children to Stewart’s Boat Shop, where a fishing boat was being built. He showed them how the frame was made, the keel, the ribs, the bow, and the stern of the boat. He also showed them how the planks were laid. How everything was made as tight and strong as possible, so the boat could withstand the stress of being tossed back and forth by heavy seas.
Bob followed it all with enthusiasm, as he loved carpentry and working with tools. He vowed to one day build a boat himself.
After everything had become clearer and easier to understand, by the example of the fishing boat, the Captain suggested they visit the shipyard, where a real life-sized ship was being built.
Here they encountered a busy bunch of men who were working hard. Some were chopping at the wood with broad axes, others were sawing planks, and still others were using whip saws and making logbooks.
On the scaffolds around the large ship, which towered over them as high as a house, there were even more men who carried planks on their shoulders and brought them to the place where they had to be screwed down.
And how big it all was! The children looked around in amazement. They had seen such ships on the water, but they had never known how large the hulls were in reality, almost as big as a block of houses, or so it seemed.
Captain Hawes then showed them how this big ship was built according to the same principle as the small boat they had just seen. And if the children didn’t understand everything yet, it wasn’t the Captain’s fault. The subject was quite big for beginners. But it was a great sight, and not everyone had the chance to see a ship being built, and they knew that.
On their way home, they rowed past sloops with a strange kind of plank at the end of the bowsprit. The Captain said it was called a “pulpit.” These boats went after swordfish, and on the “pulpit” stood a man with a spear in his hand, while a “lookout man” kept the fish in sight. When the boat was close enough, the man with the spear was ready and speared the fish as they passed by. He promised to show the children these big fish if there was a catch next time.
Although there were so many interesting things to see and learn on the coast, the beach was also an ideal place to play. The boy and girl loved it so much that it couldn’t be compared to anything else.
Digging for mussels was also a fun thing to do on the beach. Captain Hawes took them at low tide to the soft mud and showed them how to dig up the mussels. And then the pleasure of roasting them in the driftwood fire, or making a delicious soup out of them.
Here the children met their friend, Patsey Quinn. Captain Hawes jokingly called him a little water rat because Patsey was raised along the coast and knew everything about the beach. He turned out to be a very valuable friend for Bob and Betty, and the Captain could trust him to take care of them because he knew exactly what was safe and what wasn’t.
He took the children on many expeditions along the beach. He knew exactly where the best clams and mussels were to be found, where the crabs lived and how to catch them. Wading between the seaweed-covered rocks, they had exciting adventures, with crabs occasionally nipping at their toes or fingers because crabs just don’t like being caught.
Patsey also taught his new friends how to fish, although they never became as good as he was. They seemed to catch more bullhead fish than anything else, and although bullhead fish looked like great creatures, they were not, Patsey explained, very good to eat. Cod and eel tasted better. But Betty was afraid of eel. They wriggled so much.
The many types of seaweed and shells also interested the children. The colorful pebbles were so beautiful and round because they were rolled by the sea, Patsey explained to them.
He also showed them how to skip flat stones over the water surface, until they could skip the stones several times before they sank.
There was no end to the variety of exciting and educational activities. Every day seemed to bring new fun adventures. The children, browned by the sun, enjoyed it to the fullest.
Chapter 2
At night, especially on the really dark nights, the children watched with unwavering interest the large lamp of the lighthouse on the point. Captain Hawes had explained the use of lighthouses, how they pointed the way to ships at night, like signs at street corners or intersections, and he also warned them to stay away from the rocks.
One day, he took the children rowing to the lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper took them up into the tower and proudly showed them the powerful lamp with its intricate reflectors, and explained everything. Betty admired the bright, shiny appearance of the lamp and was amazed to hear that the man himself took care of it all. She had thought that only a housekeeper could maintain such shine.
Another time, Captain Hawes took the children to Barry’s sail loft, where the sails for the new ship were being made. He had already told them something about sail making, but he knew they would understand it better by seeing it for themselves. The sail loft turned out to be, like everything related to ships, very interesting. The wide, clean floor and the men on their low benches sewing the seams of the heavy canvas, using sturdy leather “palm thimbles” instead of thimbles, made a great impression on the boy and girl. And they used even more special tools and strange items.
On the wall in a corner of the loft was a varied collection of clews and rings, which also aroused the children’s curiosity. These had to be sewn into the corners of the sails to hold the ropes for rigging. Here and there lay compact, heavy rolls of canvas, from which the sails were made, ready to be carried away and rigged to the high masts and wide yards of the ship. These were the sails that would later look so light and graceful as they carried the ship on the wind.
The summer days passed quickly for the children, and Captain Hawes insisted that they hurry to learn to swim. Together with the help of Patsey, they practiced daily. After their first cautious wading and splashing, they enjoyed it immensely, and before the summer was really over, they had learned to keep their heads above water. They still couldn’t swim far, but that would come with time as they built up more strength. They had at least made a start, and were rightly very proud of their achievement.
Under the guidance of the Captain, the two children also learned to row, although the oars of the boat were rather heavy for them and sometimes, annoyingly, caught in the water. The Captain called this “catching a crab”. But despite this, it was all great fun!
Captain Hawes often took them out in his sailboat, the Mary Ann. He sailed close to a log that belonged to the shipyard, and showed them where the wood came from for the ship’s construction. He explained how it was cut deep in the backwoods and transported on a raft down the rivers to the sea. The large raft was now held in place by a frame of logs, joined together with chains. Here, the children saw the men selecting the special logs they needed. They had to perform various tricks, like paddling and balancing with boat hooks, to get the logs in the right direction. Some would even paddle to the shipyard on a log, balancing like a tightrope walker. But accidents would occasionally happen and they would end up with more than just wet feet. This delighted their comrades.
When the logs reached the shipyard, they were sawn into planks using whip saws and machine saws, and then shaped with axes, as they had seen the workers do. Finally, they were made to fit perfectly for their place on the ship.
Of course, the children had to try out this wooden plank construction for themselves! So they built a raft for themselves out of loose planks that were lying along the beach. While Betty was the passenger, Bob worked hard to paddle the raft around in the shallow water. Patsey Quinn, more ambitious and used to getting wet regularly, boldly imitated the loggers in their balancing acts. This did not go entirely without mishaps, but he was not too concerned about it. Being in the water was about the same as being out of it for him.
These were busy, happy days for the children. There was always plenty to see or do. Patsey was curious about the things in the city, but Bob and Betty were completely convinced, at least for now, that the coast was a much more interesting place than the city.
The children always heard stories about lobster fishing, as it was an important industry there. So Captain Hawes took them in his boat to see the fishermen at work as they pulled in their traps. The fishing beds were dotted with buoys. Each fisherman had his own buoy, with his own mark. Attached to each buoy was a trap on a long line. The lobsters would crawl into the traps after the bait and then not be able to get out.
But Bob and Betty were disappointed when they saw that these lobsters came out of the water dull green instead of the beautiful bright red they had expected. Captain Hawes explained that they would turn red after being cooked.
Today was the day of the launch of one of the new ships that the children had seen at their first visit to the shipyard. High tide was the best time, and the whole village turned out to see the event. Captain Hawes had told them they would soon see the ship floating in the bay. This was hard to believe. How could it be possible to ever move that large ship? “Just wait and see,” Captain Hawes assured them.
Everyone on the yard was excited and thrilled. Captain Hawes put the children on a high wooden beam where they had a good view.
The ship, decorated with cheerful fluttering flags, was clamped in her “cradle.” The ways on which she had to slide down were well greased and the builder waited until the tide was at its highest.
Finally, the moment arrived. The signal was given. The workmen began to work frantically to remove the ways from under the ship, set up the lifting jacks, and knock away the few remaining supports, with danger to their lives, then quickly run to the side.
Then the big ship slowly “came to life” and began to move. Slowly but steadily gaining speed, she began to slide down the ways. Quickly and faster, gaining speed, she ran, as if alive, gracefully sliding into the sea!
Then the ship rushed far into the deep water, where she remained beautifully afloat. From a mass of planks and beams, she seemed to have become a great living creature. The spectators cheered and waved their hats. The ship proudly took her place at sea, where she would spend the rest of her life.
Bob and Betty were so impressed that even the exciting sailboat race they had seen that afternoon seemed to pale in comparison to the launch of the big ship.
Chapter 3
For the children, the sea with its many changes was a completely new sight. One day, the sea was flat, calm, and shimmering like a large mirror. But with a breeze, the water could quickly change to different shades of blue. Another day, white foam and splashing water could be seen as the wind grew stronger.
And the sea was so big! Captain Hawes assured them that it was even bigger than it looked. He also told them that if they were to go to the far edge of the sky, they would see another sea that was just as big, and it would take many, many days to cross to the other side of the sea.
When the wind blew high and the waves crashed against the rocks and the white mist rose, he took them to the beach to watch the storm and the surf rolling in. Of course, it was then time for rubber boots, rain hats, and raincoats, like the sailors wear in rough weather.
One day during a severe storm on the east coast, when they could barely stand upright because of the wind, they saw a sailboat wrecked on the rocks. Everyone on shore was greatly shocked. The rescue boat with its brave crew quickly set off to save the sailors who clung to the edge of the ship, waiting for help. They were all saved, but the ship was lost and smashed against the rocks.
So many sturdy ships met their end this way, said the Captain to the children. This was just what happened at sea. A few days later, when the storm had passed and the sea became calm again, Captain Hawes rowed with the children to the rocky point to see the wreck. Here lay the stranded ship firmly wedged between the rocks. Her masts were gone, she was broken into several pieces, and the tatters of the sails fluttered around. The good vessel had once sailed, but was now a worthless wreck.
And once the Captain had started his stories, he told them more long and exciting stories about his various travels and adventures, and about the whales he had seen.
This life at sea endlessly fascinated the children and offered an inexhaustible amount of wonderful things to see and learn. One day, Captain Hawes said, “Now we will go to the dock and watch the riggers finish building the new ship that we launched.”
Of course, the children were eager to do so. Captain Hawes, who knew everyone and was welcome everywhere, took them on board and showed them everything, from the bow to the stern. And everything on the ship was so well made to measure that the children were constantly amazed. High above in the mast, men swarmed, performing dangerous stunts to secure the sails and ropes.
The children watched in awe.
Outside on the yards, sailors were busy laying out the new sails, which were made in the sail loft, in the proper shape. The whole work seemed a miraculous tangle of lines and ropes and canvas that were all tangled up. Captain Hawes tried to explain what each rope meant and how it was used. But there were too many, and it was all very confusing. Each rope, he said, had its own name. Every sailor had to know the name of the rope precisely to do his work.
The riggers made small rope ladders from the railing to the crossbars of the ship by tying small thin lines to the heavy cords. Of course, these lines had to keep the large masts in place. The children were all amazed, but did not understand everything.
Bob was especially interested in this because he understood climbing, and this climbing was much, much higher than what the biggest boy in his school could do.
The cook showed them the galley and they thought it was great. The galley is the kitchen on a ship. It’s a small neat room, with handy shelves and cupboards where everything needed for cooking can be stored. Plates, dishes, pots, and pans. The stove was securely chained so there would be no danger of fire in a heavy storm.
For Betty, the galley was the most fun part of the ship. She immediately felt like cooking and thought it was a bit strange to see a sailor cooking.
The city children never tired of Captain Hawes’ travel stories, and the Captain, with such good listeners, never tired of telling them. So they formed a perfect combination.
He told them how, as a young man, he went on whale hunts. “Of course, you know what whales are, they’re big sea creatures. You really couldn’t call them fish, they’re often as long as a house. These enormous beings live in the northern and southern seas. But once there was a whale that got lost. It ended up in a bay not far from here.” Now the children were really excited. “Oh, if only one would come this summer!” they exclaimed. The Captain said there was a chance, but they shouldn’t count on it.
When the ship reached the distant seas where whales could be found, “lookout sailors” were stationed atop the mast to watch for whales. When one was spotted, the lookout sailor would shout, “Look, the whale is spouting water.” Whales have the habit of spouting water when they come to the surface to breathe. Then the boats were lowered and the sailors went after the whale. They approached it and rowed as close as they dared. The harpooner standing at the bow of the boat then threw his harpoon into the side of the large animal.
The whale immediately caused a commotion, flapping its tail and slapping its fins against the water, and then dove deep down. The sailors would then pull on the rope attached to the harpoon as the whale went down. Sometimes they had to cut the rope to avoid being pulled underwater. But if this didn’t happen, the whale would resurface after a while and the boat would begin to be dragged along at a tremendous speed. Eventually, the whale would become tired and the boat would be rowed closer again and a harpoon would be stuck into its side until it was completely dead.
It was all exciting and dangerous work, because sometimes the whale attacked the boat and shattered it with a swipe of its tail, and the men, often badly injured, were thrown into the sea and sometimes drowned. The dead whale was towed back to the ship. If the ship was moored on shore, the body was cut into pieces. The large pieces of blubber were melted down in pots above the fire on deck. The oil ran into barrels and these were stored in the hold.
Chapter 4
Captain Hawes made a small toy sailboat for the children to sail in the bays along the beach. He showed them how to fasten the sails and set the rudder so the boat would “tack” and sail against the wind. He called it “sailing close to the wind.”
Around that time, they heard that the new ship, fully rigged and with all its sails in place, had been taken to the neighboring harbor to collect its cargo and begin a long journey. The children wanted to see the ship again, so Captain Hawes took them on a small trip to the harbor where they could see all the preparatory work.
Loading a ship is always a strenuous and hurried affair, with a lot of hustle and bustle, shouting, dragging, and pushing of goods. The children, led by Patsey, found a good vantage point and watched in wonder as they sat on a few boxes, observing all the activity.
Busy dockworkers hurried to roll barrels up the gangway and carry bags inside, neatly storing them on the deck. Bales and boxes were hoisted over the railing and lowered into the hold through the hatches. The steam engine hummed, the helmsman shouted orders, and for the children, everything seemed like a jumble. But in reality, it was not a jumble, and everyone knew exactly what they were doing, and the work progressed quickly.
Bob and Betty were amazed at the large amount of goods that were being loaded onto the ship. They had never seen so many boxes, barrels, bales, and sacks. And yet, this was just the beginning, as Captain Hawes told them that even at this rapid pace, it would take many more days to load the ship.
When the first part of the cargo was loaded, the ship sat high in the water, but when everything was on board, the ship would sit deeper in the water. This was planned before it was built, Captain Hawes explained. The ship’s designer knew exactly how it should sit in the water when it was loaded, so there would be no surprises!
The ship would be heading east. Captain Hawes had been there many times, far away in the Chinese seas, where there were strange vessels on the water, such as junks with their strange, high sails, and sailors with braids on their backs. Everything was so different from our part of the world.
In the evenings, while Captain Hawes smoked his pipe, he told the children about distant lands he had visited on his travels and suggested they look up these places on a world map. For Bob and Betty, this was new, and they found it very enjoyable and interesting. China and Greenland now meant so much more than just a few names.
He talked about Iceland and Greenland and how in those regions, where almost everything was covered with snow and ice, certain animals lived that could not be found anywhere else, such as the large white polar bear and the walrus.
“Well, we know a polar bear,” Betty interrupted the captain. The polar bear was an old friend of theirs. They had often seen it in Central Park.
“Well, that’s very good,” said the captain. “Now you know where it comes from too. I’ve been in that direction during my travels.”
Often whale hunters in those areas actually chased away the whale. They were dangerous seas to work in, as there were many icebergs and the risk of fog around the icebergs was great. It was very dangerous to sail then.”
But, the Captain said, what sailors feared the most was fire at sea. It happened rarely, but when it did, it was always serious. Once, the Captain’s ship was burned between the icebergs at night. There was nothing left to do but to take the rowboats and flee to the coast, which luckily was nearby. They lost everything except the clothes they were wearing and a small amount of provisions. And there, as they watched, the ship was engulfed in a high blaze, and that was the last they saw of the ship. The Captain said they felt pretty cold and lonely there, far away from the rest of the world, with no other way to get away than in the small rowboats.
Fortunately, they quickly reached an Inuit village. The Inuit are the natives who have always lived there. They are small people, all dressed in heavy, warm furs, who build snow houses in which they stay warm even in the coldest weather. They live off hunting and fishing. They throw spears at seals from their canoes and fish through holes in the ice. These are the people about whom you hear explorers talking when they go on expeditions to the North Pole. Captain Hawes said that fortunately, whale hunters often roamed these regions, so the Captain and his mates were picked up by a passing ship and taken home fairly quickly.
The summer now went by quickly, and the children’s summer vacation would soon be over too. Before they had to leave for home, the Sachem – that was the name of the new ship – was ready to sail the seas. The children had admired her “figurehead” extensively. The figurehead was a beautifully carved wooden Indian chief, gilded and painted in bright colors. The ship had her entire cargo on board, the hatches were closed, and everything was packed and secured and ready for the long journey.
The ship would set sail for the Far East, the Captain said. First, she would visit some South American ports, then cross the ocean to Africa, then stop in Cape Town and other less important ports, then sail around the Cape and go to India via the Indian Ocean. Then she would continue to China and Japan.
With the goods on board, trade would be conducted in the various ports. Trading means selling the goods or exchanging them for things made or grown in distant lands. They would then take these things back home to sell in our markets. This was the way, Captain Hawes explained, that we get many good things that we cannot grow or make in our own country.
On the day the ship left, everyone wished her a safe journey. With all sails hoisted, the ship looked beautiful. A soft land breeze filled her sails, and slowly and gracefully she sailed away, headed for the open sea. The steamboats and tugboats in the bay blew a greeting to the ship with their whistles.
Captain Hawes told the children, with a deep sigh, that this was probably the last square-rigged ship they would see leaving this harbor, as this type of old-fashioned ship with these kind of sails would now hardly be made anymore. A new type of ship, with sails at the front and back, was more practical and was now being used more and more. But even these types of ships could not compete with steamboats. Nowadays, steamboats and cargo ships transported almost all goods.
They watched the ship until it was far away. The sun set and the only thing they could still see of the ship was a small black dot on the horizon.
And now it was time for Bob and Betty to go home, as their summer vacation had come to an end. Back home, they were just in time to see the country’s war fleet. This was the latest development in the field of navigation. They were large, massive steel ships without sails, powered by steam. They were enormously impressive, but just wait until you hear Bob and Betty tell about their summer with Captain Hawes, then you’ll learn everything about sailing ships.
